Lindsey Moon

Talk Show Producer

Lindsey Moon started as a talk show producer with Iowa Public Radio in May of 2014. She comes to IPR by way of Illinois Public Media, an NPR/PBS dual licensee in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and Wisconsin Public Radio where she’s worked as a producer and a general assignment reporter.

Lindsey is an Iowa native and a 2012 graduate of the University of Iowa with degrees in Anthropology and Journalism. Her work has earned awards from the Wisconsin Associated Press, Public Radio News Directors Incorporated and the Northwest Broadcast News Association and has aired on NPR’s All Things Considered.

In her free time, she’s a bookworm, and enjoys running half marathons, seeing live music and scuba diving whenever there’s time and money to plan a trip. Lindsey’s favorite public radio programs are Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me! and Talk of Iowa

Ways to Connect

There's been some new and alarming research about the increasing number of suicides and cases of depression among teens. Are cell phones and social media contributing to the problem? During this hour of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with Jean Twenge, who is author of the forthcoming book IGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood.

Nationally, more people between the ages of 15-24 are shot than any other age group. Dr. Denville Myrie, a trauma surgeon at Mercy Medical Center, says that’s true for the ER he works for in Des Moines.

"These are young, healthy men," Myrie says. "They should not be dying. They are dying from basically stupidity; for no reason. There are so many guns on the street, and it seems like nobody cares what they can do about that."

Is your sidewalk a hazard? Has your driveway seen better days? Cracks in concrete happen over time, and they're sometimes difficult to troubleshoot, especially if the problem is due to a tree root or uneven ground.

During this hour of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with home improvement expert Bill McAnally about concrete, asphalt and other paving solutions for your driveway, sidewalk, patio or paving project.

Iowa farmers are making land use decisions aimed at helping farm chemical runoff curb into streams, rivers and, ultimately, the Gulf of Mexico. This year’s dead zone in Gulf is the biggest one ever, and Iowa’s secretary of agriculture says more changes are needed. Bill Northey says cover crops, which keep roots in the ground and prevent nutrients and soil from washing away, are a key practice. But he says statewide only about three to four percent of farmland gets a cover crop.

Eastern Iowa music lovers, take note. Luke Tweedy and his team at Flat Black Studios are throwing the inaugural Grey Area festival August 18 and 19.

The two day concert series will feature artists who have recorded at the studio, DJs local to the Iowa City area, aerial performances by Elevate Vertical Fitness and National Dance Academy, and a laser light show.

Today, President Trump signed into law legislation that levies new sanctions against Russia and restricts his own ability to ease those sanctions.

Hans Hassell, assistant professor of political science at Cornell College says that Congress' act to send those sanctions to Trumps desk is important.

"This is a really clear rebuke of the President saying, 'Look, what we've heard about Russia makes us very concerned,' so we're going to take these strong stances against Russia while you're trying to get us to relax those sanctions."

Kittie Weston-Knauer is not your typical retiree. At the age of 67, she's the oldest female BMX athlete in the country.

She started racing after her son got into BMX. When given the choice to sit around and do nothing or compete, she says she will always choose to race and will continue with the sport for as long as she can.

"I have always been competitive," she laughs. "Look, I grew up with five brothers."

Iowan Sarah Cooper recently finished one of the most grueling bike races in the country, Race Across America, placing 10th overall. She was the first woman to cross the finish line. If riding her bike 3,000 miles across the country wasn't hard enough, she did the second half of the race battling a condition called Shermer's Neck, which left her unable to hold her head up.

"The hardest thing I had to adjust to was having my teeth in a glass of water next to my bed at night," laughs Evelyn Birkby, who is a nearly 98 and lives in her home in Sidney, Iowa.

Birkby and her late husband Robert planned to age in their home, and they have done just that. During this hour of Talk of Iowa, she talks with host Charity Nebbe about their preparations, like building their home with a minimal number of stairs to make for easier access in older age.

Getting your baby or toddler to sleep can be one of the biggest challenges of parenting and for many parents, co-sleeping is the answer. The dangers of co-sleeping, however, have been well documented by the medical community.

During this hour of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with author and associate professor of sociology at Iowa State University Susan Stewart who has recently published a new book Co-sleeping: Parents, Children and Musical Beds.

We all know that you're not you when you're tired. According to new sleep research, that's not just a saying, but it's scientifically true. New studies shows that sleep disturbances in young adults can worsen suicidal ideation, and it can even be harmful to your health to fight with your spouse when you haven't been sleeping well.

During this hour of River to River, host Ben Kieffer talks with Dr. Eric Dyken of the University of Iowa about these new studies. He also answers listener questions about sleep.

During their spring session, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that social media is a constitutional right. It also decided cases regarding same-sex parents and birth certificates, a case involving a potentially offensively named band and the protected status of offensive speech, and a case involving President Trump's travel ban.

After the US withdrew from the Vietnam War, its Indochinese allies were left facing torture, death, and imprisonment from the ruling communist regime. The Tai Dam, an ethnic group from northern Vietnam, petitioned the U.S. for sanctuary.

In 1975, Iowa Governor Robert Ray created an agency to relocate the group. During this hour of River to River host Ben Kieffer talks with Matthew Walsh, a professor of history at Des Moines Area Community College about his new book The Good Governor: Robert Ray and the Indochinese Refugees of Iowa.

French master chef David Baruthio's career has taken him all over the world. He has opened restaurants in many countries and here in Iowa, including Baru 66 and Prime Land and Sea in Des Moines. Baruthio explains that as a master chef he considers cooking to be an art, a craft, and a passion.

No one wants to wind up in the hospital, but it's not just the threat of a health crisis that makes us dread a visit. The environment - the stark, sterile, cold, and clinical atmosphere isn't the most pleasant. Hospitals everywhere are trying to change that.

During this hour of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with Rodney Dieser, a professor of leisure, youth and human services at the University of Northern Iowa about his research into how the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN has approached making their space more welcoming for families and less stressful for staff.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration / Wikimedia Commons

A NASA space probe carrying an instrument developed at the University of Iowa will pass close to Jupiter Monday. The Juno spacecraft will come within 56-hundred miles of the iconic Great Red Spot on the planet. Scientists believe the spot is a 10-thousand-mile-wide storm that has been brewing for 350 years. A research scientist at the University of Iowa, Bill Kurth, says there are basic facts about the red spot, however, scientists don’t understand.

Yesterday in Clear Lake, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced that she will wait until September to decide whether or not to call a special session for the Iowa Legislature to discuss and act on the looming budget problems the state is facing.

Around the 4th of July in Iowa, more than 4,000 Iowans are employed as pyrotechnicians setting up, wiring, and tearing down fireworks displays.

J and M Displays, a company based in Yarmouth, sells many of the professional fireworks that are lit across the state. Monte Whitlock leads a professional pyrotechnics crew for J and M Displays and sells fireworks. He urges people to keep in mind the folks who are lighting the displays on the 4th.

Iowa’s lakes play a huge role in the communities that have grown up around them. During this hour of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe takes a tour of Lake Delhi, open for the first full summer boating season this year after the dam burst due to heavy rainfall in 2010. We’ll hear from Steve Leonard, President of the Lake Delhi Recreation Association, and the engineer who is spending part of his retirement maintaining the dam.

Sholly, who lives on Clear Lake, and Mary Skopec, who is executive director of the Lakeside Laboratory near Lake Okoboji, also join the show.

How many churches are there in Des Moines? How many mosques, temples, or places of worship are there? More than you might think. During this hour of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with Tim Knepper, editor of the new book A Spectrum of Faith that was put together by more than one-hundred students at Drake University and highlights the religious diversity of Iowa.

A few days before Iowa’s new medical marijuana law takes effect, a Minnesota cannabis producer says his business is not yet profitable two years into that state’s program. The two states have similar medical cannabis laws, but Iowa’s is more restrictive.

Iowa’s new law will allow for two medical cannabis manufacturers and five dispensaries in the state.

Dr. Andrew Bachman, the CEO of Leafline Labs, says Minnesota’s law creates a more sustainable business climate, in part because Iowa’s law limits the THC content of medical cannabis.

Proposed budget cuts by the Trump administration have scientists at the Ames Laboratory on the campus of Iowa State University concerned. The smallest of the national laboratories receives 90 percent of its funding from the Department of Energy. The director of the Ames Lab, Adam Schwartz, says President Trump’s proposed budget would harm scientific research.

"If the President's budget is passed, there would be dramatic reductions in staff, not only at the Ames Laboratory, but all of the national laboratories," he says.

The way women communicate with their friends can be subtle but powerful. Georgetown University professor of linguistics Deborah Tannen studies interpersonal relationships and communication patterns between women and the ways in which they differ from those of men. These differences can often be frustrating to those involved.

The 70th International Juggler’s Association Festival is set to take place at Cedar Rapids’ Paramount Theater on July 10-16th. The festival will include technical training workshops, a juggling history museum, a youth showcase performance, and a free ‘learning zone’ for aspiring jugglers.

The festival will open with a Welcome Show on Tuesday and close out with a show by the Cascade of Stars on Saturday, which is comprised of professional juggling and circus acts from around the world.

A study in the Journal of Rural Health shows suicide rates among farmers remain high long after the farm crisis of the 1980s. The research is co-written by an assistant professor at Des Moines University, Wendy Riddenberg. She says agriculture workers today have few places to turn for counseling when times are tough.

“After the 80s, there were some mental health services that were created and provided specifically for farmers and agricultural workers. A lot of those are no longer in existence," she says.

Early today, a gunman open fired at a baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia. Donna Hoffman, an associate professor of political science at the University of Northern Iowa says while tragic, the event is not unique.

"It’s important to remember in times like this that America often has violent events like this," she says.

Chad Pregracke, president of Living Lands and Waters, a river clean up and educational organization, has a different kind of project that's going on display at the Figge Art Museum this month.

For nearly 20 years, he’s been traveling along the Mississippi and other rivers around the United States to clean up waste. During that time span, he’s collected a lot of things, like bowling pins, bowling balls, claw foot tubs, and a hand full of messages in a bottle.

So far this year, Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines has welcomed 12 new babies, including 2 camels, 1 black rhino, 2 wallabies, 1 giraffe, 2 addax, a desert antelope, and 3 elands. Their newest addition to that family of babies is a newborn Japanese macaque, also known as a snow monkey.

During this River to River conversation, zookeeper Val Hautekeete talks with host Ben Kieffer.